Moxon's pride at 'Magnificent XI' oiling wheels of England machine

Although the county have produced the likes of Michael Vaughan and Matthew Hoggard in recent years, it is decades since the club supplied a steady stream of international players.

But despite the fact Yorkshire have not won a domestic trophy since 2002, that time-honoured maxim could again prove relevant.

This winter, the county have provided 11 cricketers for England's various squads and development programmes in what represents a significant achievement by the Headingley club.

While the likes of England internationals Adil Rashid and Tim Bresnan, the soon-to-be England international Ajmal Shahzad and the England Lions captain Andrew Gale have dominated the headlines, there has been progress throughout the county's ranks.

Joe Sayers, David Wainwright, Adam Lyth and Jonathan Bairstow have impressed on the England Performance Programme in South Africa, while Azeem Rafiq, Joe Root and Charlie Roebuck have made excellent strides with England Under-19s.

Indeed, the only real cloud on Yorkshire's horizon is what might happen should several of their star names continue to be selected for the full England side.

Were the likes of Shahzad, Bresnan and Rashid away at the same time during the summer, for example, that would place significant strain on the county's bowling resources and give director of professional cricket Martyn Moxon an unwanted headache.

Moxon takes great credit for the ongoing development of the club's younger players, along with a coaching staff that includes Academy director and bowling coach Steve Oldham, assistant bowling coach John Blain, batting coach Kevin Sharp and director of cricket operations Ian Dews.

Although that coaching team has yet to mastermind the first XI success the club sorely crave, they are laying the foundations for future prosperity.

One fully understands the frustrations of those Yorkshire members who protest that the county have seemingly been "laying the foundations" for several years now.

Many wonder when the club are actually going to win something, with Yorkshire having consistently struggled in the County Championship.

But the present foundations appear to be built on much firmer ground than in recent years, with Yorkshire still paying the price for allowing their 2001 County Championship-winning side to wilfully disintegrate.

It has meant Moxon and his staff have had to go back to basics – but their efforts, it would seem, are starting to pay off.

"It makes me very proud that we've had 11 Yorkshire players involved with the England set-up this winter because I can't think of any other county who can boast that many," said Moxon, who played 10 Tests and eight one-day internationals for his country.

"It's an exciting time for the club in general and the individual development of our players is particularly encouraging. What we have to do now is start turning that individual development into results on the field and it's all about getting the balance right between short-term success and long-term progression.

"Our lads are still developing and learning their games, which is why we've not had the consistency of results in recent seasons, but I'm very confident we'll get to that level eventually.

"I've said it several times since I came back to the club, but it's important to recognise that success doesn't just happen overnight.

"That's not an excuse, because if you look at the Yorkshire side that won the Championship in 2001, that took a long time to develop – it didn't just magically put itself together.

"It's a similar situation to the one up at Durham.

"Lots of hard work went into creating the team that won the Championship up there, and now they're reaping the benefits of all that hard work."

Moxon believes Yorkshire are steadily improving in terms of developing young players – a statement borne out by the numbers who are gaining England recognition.

The club have put added emphasis on identifying talent from 11 years upwards and

are keen to improve in that respect.

"We're working closely with the Yorkshire schools, we have a strong Centre of Excellence Programme in place and we're trying to cast our net as wide as possible," said Moxon.

"Our Academy system is very strong and all 11 lads who've been involved with England this winter have come up through our Academy ranks.

"This coming summer we'll have 12 full-time Academy players plus seven emerging players, as we call them, and there's some tremendous prospects among that lot.

"We've also been doing a lot of work to identify talent from 11 years upwards and, just like the first team, it's a work in progress."

In addition to the 'Magnificent XI', Moxon said Yorkshire had other bright young stars bubbling beneath the surface.

"The likes of pace bowlers Oliver Hannon-Dalby and James Lee spring to mind – as does the talented young batsman Gary Ballance," he said.

"Oliver has all the right attributes to be a really excellent fast bowler – he's tall and gets plenty of pace and bounce.

"James played for the first XI last summer and he's another young player who's coming on well.

"Throw in the likes of Gary Ballance, who is one of our most promising young batsmen, and the future looks bright in my opinion.

"The goal of every county should be to try to develop England players and I'm pleased we're succeeding in that respect."